Assistant Coach Mike Rohn talks to his team during a timeout.
Buffs Comeback Falls Short In Italy Finale
August 23, 2017 | Men's Basketball
George King Scores 22 Points, Buffs Nearly Erase 26-Point Deficit
VERCELLI, Italy - Saving the best opponent for the final game of a long, but memorable, foreign tour was probably not the ideal situation for the Colorado basketball team.
However, this game more than others, gave the Buffaloes a good barometer of where they are after this four-game tour and what needs to come next.
Novipiu Junior Casale built a big early lead and held on late to defeat Colorado 72-64 Friday night in Vercelli. Colorado's Italy tour ends with a record of 3-1.
Unlike the previous three games on the trip where the Buffaloes were playing all-star squads, individuals from different local professional teams, Novipiu is a program where its core group has played several years together in the Italian A2 Division.
That familiarity was apparent from the beginning. Junior Casale made Colorado pay early for defensive mistakes. Their passes were crisp, using screens and back cuts for wide-open shots; and like the majority of professional players, a wide-open look usually goes in.
Novipiu shot 58 percent in the first half building a 46-22 advantage and extended its lead to 26 points early in the third quarter before the Buffaloes mounted a comeback that fell just short.
"Without a doubt the best team we played and that was good for us," said assistant coach Mike Rohn, who served as the acting head coach for this game. "We can learn a lot from this team. They played very physical, which we have to learn to do, play physical and smart at the same time. But the way they played is what we need to learn from. They competed really well defensively, they connected, you could really hear them talking. They ran their offense at a really fast pace, the ball really moved quickly which made it hard on our defense to keep up with."
Senior George King led Colorado with 22 points, hitting five 3-pointers, which would have tied his Colorado career high had it been a regular season game. Freshman McKinley Wright IV was Colorado's only other player in double digits with 12 points.
HOW IT HAPPENED: Novipiu started firing out of the gate hitting four 3-pointers in the first quarter to build a 24-10 lead. Colorado made just two of its first 11 and six of its 10 points came off free throws. The Buffaloes were also hampered by six turnovers. The team from Casale used a 16-3 run at the end of the first quarter to create a cushion against the young Buffaloes.
The second quarter wasn't much better. The Buffaloes shot 29 percent compared to 59 percent for Novipiu as Junior Casale held a 46-22 halftime lead.
"Offensively they were extremely patient; they create help," King said. "The bigs set great screens for the guards, the guards use those screens well which puts a defense in a lot of trouble. If our big steps up they're going by him and if the second one steps up on defense they're kicking it to shooters."
But Colorado's defense started to come around in the second half. Novipiu would cool off considerably and only score 26 points in the final 20 minutes. The Buffaloes were able to get stops and force a lot of Novipiu turnovers, leading to easier offensive opportunities.
Novipiu had 23 turnovers, 15 coming in the second half. The Buffaloes still trailed by 20 heading into the fourth quarter at 61-41, but made a furious rally in the final 10 minutes.
Freshman Tyler Bey provided a key part of that spark. On one possession, he closed hard on a 3-point attempt, getting there in time for the block, rebound and subsequent coast-to-coast dunk.
Minutes later, Bey intercepted a pass in the backcourt and was fouled on a lay up attempt. He then hit both free throws, capping off a 16-5 run that cut the Novipiu lead under double digits, 66-57, with 2:59 remaining.
Bey finished with nine points, six rebounds, two steals and two blocks.
Novipiu had just enough answers to hold off Colorado. Simone Bellan put Junior Casale back up 68-57 with a dunk immediately following Bey's free throws. King responded with a nice drive and 3-point play, but Niccolo Martinoni answered with a layup at the other end.
Colorado did climb to within six with just under a minute left. Wright hit back-to-back baskets, but missed an and-one chance on the second one that would have cut it to five with 50 seconds remaining.
Novipiu was able to run out the clock from and iced it at the line with a pair of final free throws from Davide Denegri.
TURNING POINT: For Colorado it was getting stops in the second half and the ability to run which got them back in the game. Novipiu made the Buffaloes pay for early mistakes and its 26-point lead early in the third proved to be enough.
WHAT IT MEANS: Four games of experience for a team that saw seven guys play in a Colorado uniform for the first time over the last 10 days. This game in particular gave those younger players a glimpse of the precision of a professional team.
KEY STATISTICS: Bey led the Buffaloes in rebounding with his six while three others had five: King, Namon Wright, and Lucas Siewert…Wright also pitched in eight points and had three steals…Colorado shot just 28 percent from 3-point range over the four games and 57 percent from the free throw line…The Buffaloes were plus-10 in rebounding over the four games and had a turnover margin of plus-2.3…King's 22 points were the most by a Colorado player on the trip and he averaged a team-best 13.8 points per game….McKinley Wright IV was second in scoring at 11.3 points per game while Namon Wright was third at 10.3 an outing…King led Colorado in rebounding at 7.3 per game while Bey was second at 6.8.
QUOTABLE: "When you play against really good players and make a mistake, whether it be a rotation, or not communicating on a switch or not matching up in transition a really good team that's skilled is going to make you pay because they make open shots. Or if you make the rotation they're going to make the next pass and make that shot. We've got to be much more solid, and we will. You've got to give our guys a lot of credit for how hard they kept fighting, we cut it to a two possession game there at the end and we missed one big defensive rebound, but that was a really good game for us we need to learn from that and see it. The good thing is we'll have that on film for the guys to look and see the things we need to improve on." – Assistant coach Mike Rohn.
"We changed our ball screen defense a little bit, we started switching a lot more and Tyler (Bey) is a very active player when we switch he's able to cover a lot of different guys. We did do a lot more trapping because we were trying to get back in the game, and again that fits Tyler because we're trapping and he's long, and if he's not in the trap he's one of the intercept guys. He made some really impressive plays and that style for him is good, where he needs to keep getting a little bit better is in the half court." – Assistant coach Mike Rohn.
"If we can combine our youth, talent and energy with the mature play that these professionals have we'll be a tough team to deal with in general. That's what I'm looking forward to push our guys to do." – George King
"We got down and our pride was hurt we felt that we were better than them we just got to the point where we were tired of losing so bad. It can't get to that point and then start playing hard defensively. It has to be that way from the jump." – George King
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However, this game more than others, gave the Buffaloes a good barometer of where they are after this four-game tour and what needs to come next.
Novipiu Junior Casale built a big early lead and held on late to defeat Colorado 72-64 Friday night in Vercelli. Colorado's Italy tour ends with a record of 3-1.
Unlike the previous three games on the trip where the Buffaloes were playing all-star squads, individuals from different local professional teams, Novipiu is a program where its core group has played several years together in the Italian A2 Division.
That familiarity was apparent from the beginning. Junior Casale made Colorado pay early for defensive mistakes. Their passes were crisp, using screens and back cuts for wide-open shots; and like the majority of professional players, a wide-open look usually goes in.
Novipiu shot 58 percent in the first half building a 46-22 advantage and extended its lead to 26 points early in the third quarter before the Buffaloes mounted a comeback that fell just short.
"Without a doubt the best team we played and that was good for us," said assistant coach Mike Rohn, who served as the acting head coach for this game. "We can learn a lot from this team. They played very physical, which we have to learn to do, play physical and smart at the same time. But the way they played is what we need to learn from. They competed really well defensively, they connected, you could really hear them talking. They ran their offense at a really fast pace, the ball really moved quickly which made it hard on our defense to keep up with."
Senior George King led Colorado with 22 points, hitting five 3-pointers, which would have tied his Colorado career high had it been a regular season game. Freshman McKinley Wright IV was Colorado's only other player in double digits with 12 points.
HOW IT HAPPENED: Novipiu started firing out of the gate hitting four 3-pointers in the first quarter to build a 24-10 lead. Colorado made just two of its first 11 and six of its 10 points came off free throws. The Buffaloes were also hampered by six turnovers. The team from Casale used a 16-3 run at the end of the first quarter to create a cushion against the young Buffaloes.
The second quarter wasn't much better. The Buffaloes shot 29 percent compared to 59 percent for Novipiu as Junior Casale held a 46-22 halftime lead.
"Offensively they were extremely patient; they create help," King said. "The bigs set great screens for the guards, the guards use those screens well which puts a defense in a lot of trouble. If our big steps up they're going by him and if the second one steps up on defense they're kicking it to shooters."
But Colorado's defense started to come around in the second half. Novipiu would cool off considerably and only score 26 points in the final 20 minutes. The Buffaloes were able to get stops and force a lot of Novipiu turnovers, leading to easier offensive opportunities.
Novipiu had 23 turnovers, 15 coming in the second half. The Buffaloes still trailed by 20 heading into the fourth quarter at 61-41, but made a furious rally in the final 10 minutes.
Freshman Tyler Bey provided a key part of that spark. On one possession, he closed hard on a 3-point attempt, getting there in time for the block, rebound and subsequent coast-to-coast dunk.
Minutes later, Bey intercepted a pass in the backcourt and was fouled on a lay up attempt. He then hit both free throws, capping off a 16-5 run that cut the Novipiu lead under double digits, 66-57, with 2:59 remaining.
Bey finished with nine points, six rebounds, two steals and two blocks.
Novipiu had just enough answers to hold off Colorado. Simone Bellan put Junior Casale back up 68-57 with a dunk immediately following Bey's free throws. King responded with a nice drive and 3-point play, but Niccolo Martinoni answered with a layup at the other end.
Colorado did climb to within six with just under a minute left. Wright hit back-to-back baskets, but missed an and-one chance on the second one that would have cut it to five with 50 seconds remaining.
Novipiu was able to run out the clock from and iced it at the line with a pair of final free throws from Davide Denegri.
TURNING POINT: For Colorado it was getting stops in the second half and the ability to run which got them back in the game. Novipiu made the Buffaloes pay for early mistakes and its 26-point lead early in the third proved to be enough.
WHAT IT MEANS: Four games of experience for a team that saw seven guys play in a Colorado uniform for the first time over the last 10 days. This game in particular gave those younger players a glimpse of the precision of a professional team.
KEY STATISTICS: Bey led the Buffaloes in rebounding with his six while three others had five: King, Namon Wright, and Lucas Siewert…Wright also pitched in eight points and had three steals…Colorado shot just 28 percent from 3-point range over the four games and 57 percent from the free throw line…The Buffaloes were plus-10 in rebounding over the four games and had a turnover margin of plus-2.3…King's 22 points were the most by a Colorado player on the trip and he averaged a team-best 13.8 points per game….McKinley Wright IV was second in scoring at 11.3 points per game while Namon Wright was third at 10.3 an outing…King led Colorado in rebounding at 7.3 per game while Bey was second at 6.8.
QUOTABLE: "When you play against really good players and make a mistake, whether it be a rotation, or not communicating on a switch or not matching up in transition a really good team that's skilled is going to make you pay because they make open shots. Or if you make the rotation they're going to make the next pass and make that shot. We've got to be much more solid, and we will. You've got to give our guys a lot of credit for how hard they kept fighting, we cut it to a two possession game there at the end and we missed one big defensive rebound, but that was a really good game for us we need to learn from that and see it. The good thing is we'll have that on film for the guys to look and see the things we need to improve on." – Assistant coach Mike Rohn.
"We changed our ball screen defense a little bit, we started switching a lot more and Tyler (Bey) is a very active player when we switch he's able to cover a lot of different guys. We did do a lot more trapping because we were trying to get back in the game, and again that fits Tyler because we're trapping and he's long, and if he's not in the trap he's one of the intercept guys. He made some really impressive plays and that style for him is good, where he needs to keep getting a little bit better is in the half court." – Assistant coach Mike Rohn.
"If we can combine our youth, talent and energy with the mature play that these professionals have we'll be a tough team to deal with in general. That's what I'm looking forward to push our guys to do." – George King
"We got down and our pride was hurt we felt that we were better than them we just got to the point where we were tired of losing so bad. It can't get to that point and then start playing hard defensively. It has to be that way from the jump." – George King
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Players Mentioned
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